Labels are slips of material that can be affixed to objects temporarily or permanently by adhesive or other means. A typical label is used for providing information about an object to which it is attached. As common examples, labels may be used to communicate the price of an item, the ingredients included in a food product, the destination of a package, instructions, warnings about the dangers of using a consumer product, the name of a person wearing a label, and the like. While most labels include indicia in the form of text and/or graphics (symbols, logos, bar codes, and the like), labels may simply include indicia by exhibiting a color. For example, a green label could indicate that an item offered for a special sales price.
Conventional labels typically are formed from a substrate having a layer of wet, tacky adhesive coating one side and a nonstick liner overlying the adhesive layer to protect the adhesive layer from inadvertently adhering to objects prior to use. When a label is to be used, it is peeled away from the nonstick liner and adhered to an object. The nonstick liner is then discarded.
As labels are used in a range of different applications, they can be provided in a variety of forms, including rolls, sheets of die-cut stock, and individual stickers. In some cases, users may utilize multiple labels for a single type of application. For instance, catalog companies typically use mailing labels to identify to the postal service the destination of each catalog. Since the size and shape of each mailing label is identical, it is preferable to pre-cut the labels prior to packaging. In this manner, the labels can be printed, removed from the nonstick liner, and adhered to the catalog without the burden of cutting the label. In other cases, users need the labels to be sized differently for each use. For instance, offices use mailing labels and file labels, which differ in size according to the amount of space necessary for each individual use. To provide flexibility in size, the labels can be packaged in a continuous roll. Upon using a label, a user severs the label to supply a custom sized label for the current application.